Circular brick kiln with vertically moving kiln doors



Sept; 21, 1954 J R, CLARK 2,689,391

' CIRCULAR BRICK KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10,1951 4 Sheds-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR. J HN R- l fXRK BY 13% sl ATTORNEYS P1954 J. R. CLARK 2,689,391

CIRCULAR BRICK KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10,1951 4 shets-sheet 2 FIG.-3.

IN VEN TOR.

E: R GLBRB BTTORNE-Y J. R. CLARK Sept. 21, 1954 CIRCULAR BRICK- KILNWITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10. 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 3INVENTOR. HN R- LARK IIIIII'IIIIIIIIFIII ATTORNEYS Sept. 21, 1954 CLARK2,689,391

CIRCULAR BRICK KILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS Filed Oct. 10,1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG .6.

INVENTOR. i'lN R- LBRK )QTTORNEYS Patented Sept. 21, 1954 CIRCULAR BRICKKILN WITH VERTICALLY MOVING KILN DOORS John K. Clark, Silver Spring,Md., assignor of one-half to Thomas Somerville III, trustee,

Kenwood, Md.

Application October 10, 1951, Serial No. 250,685

3 Claims.

The present invention is a circular brick kiln with vertically movingkiln doors for use in circular brick kilns of the kind covered in myPatent No. 2,399,664 of May '7, 1946, with improvement shown anddescribed in my Patent No. 2,- 559,595 of July 10, 1951.

After much experimenting with the kiln of my said patent and applicationin the continuous manufacture of brick over a period of more than tenyears, I have found it feasible to supplant the brick partitions,forming the ends of the kiln chamber, with doors which are verticallymovable to permit elevation of the doors while the green ware is beingtiered on the kiln floor preparatory to firing the kiln, and duringremoval of the brick from the floor. The doors, because of theirtremendous weight, each weighing several tons, are preferablyhydraulically operated and equipped with suitable means to effectimmediate separation of the doors from the sides and top of the kilnpromptly after hoisting of the door has been started.

It is within the objects of this invention to provide doors embodyingrefractory material to withstand the heat in the firing chambers of thekiln; to provide doors constructed and operated to produce a moreflexible and more economical way for manufacturing brick, particularlyin thatthe workmen move in a continuous orbit on the kiln floor whiletiering the green ware in templates, superimposed on the floor, inpredetermined units of usually 300 or 500, correspondingly permittingsaid predetermined units to be lifted andloaded in situ, also inacontinuous operation around the kiln floor, after the bricks are baked,by lift forks or the like. And to provide doors at the ends of the kilncompartments which may be elevated sufiiciently to per mit completeorbital movement of the endless ware conveying belt while tiering theware, avoiding the necessity of retracting the conveyor belt after eachcompartment is loaded, with very great saving of time and labor.

It is also within the objects of this invention to provide coacting doorcarried and hood carried means to efiect unsealing of the doorautomatically when the door is elevated, rescaling being effected bycomplemental door carried and hood carried means implemented by theinherent weight of the door. I

A further object of this invention is to provide a method of tiering rawbricks followed by elevation of the brick in situ for transportationafter curing, which consists in tiering the brick in predetermined unitson templates which are mounted on the kilnfloor, followed by removal ofthe templates, segments of the floor with the brick tiered thereon beingencased in hoods, the ends of which are vertically movable to a positionabove the tops of the hoods permitting selective movement of the latteron the kiln floor to expose the bricks after curing, the units of curedbricks being then successively elevated from the floor, by lifting forksor the like and loaded on trucks or other transporting means, broughtinto engagement with, or arranged in close proximity to, the kiln floor.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription of the presently preferred form of the invention, taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure l is a horizontal fragmentary sectional view of a kiln embodyingthe present invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of the same,illustrating the manner of tiering the brick on templates superimposedon the kiln floor;

Figure 3 is a side elevational view of a kiln door forming a part of thepresent invention, 11- lustrated in conjunction with the super structurewith which the door hoist mechanism is associated;

Figure 4 is a detailed fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on theline 44 of Figure 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows, of adoor constructed in accordance with this invention, illustrating itsapplication, showing to advantage the door carried and the hood carried. striker plates, and also the door carried and hood carriedabutment plates and rollers;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 55 of Figure 3looking in the direc:-

tion of the arrows, showing to advantage the the abutment plates androllers used for laterally moving the door into a closed sealed positicnwhen it is lowered;

Figure '7 is a further fragmentarycvertical sectional view taken on theline 1-1 of Figure 3 looking in the direction of the arrows, immediatelyabove the door, showing the manner of engaging the door with the sidesof the hood, in conjunction with the door moving means shown in Figure6;

Figure 8 is a detail fragmentary perspective view of one of the doorsforming a part of the 3 present invention, equipped with a striker plateand abutment plates, and

Figure 9 is a perspective view of the complemental kiln carried strikerplate.

In order to illustrate the application of this invention, I have, in thedrawingsshown a kiln generally designated In, which is the same as shownin my said patent 2,399,664 and includes a circular kiln floor II,movable hoods [2 which include integral sides and tops and are equippedwith rollers I3 engageable with tracks 4 mounted in close proximity tothe opposite sides or the kiln floor. The hoods additionally includedoors 15 adapted for selective engagement with the ends of the hoods l2,the doors being vertically movable on parallelly-arranged hood carriedvertical beams 16, which form a part of a door hoisting superstructureI! at each end of the hood. Each superstructure also embodies pulleywheels 58 over which cables l9 are trained, one end or each cable beingengaged with the upper margin of the door Ill, as indicated at 2%. Theopposite end of each cable is engaged with a hoist rod 2|, the latterbeing operatively mounted in a hydraulic hoist cylinder 22. It is to beunderstood that the door hoist mechanism may be of any suitableconventional type capable of withstanding the strain necessarily exertedthereon in the elevation and lowering of the doors I5, each of whichweighs several tons. Upon reference to Figure or" the drawings, it willbe noted that each superstructure ll includes horizontal I beams 23 w-ich are engaged with the top of the hood.

To facilitate expeditious disengagement of the doors from the ends andtops of the kiln hoods, as soon as hoist of the doors is initiated, Iprovide complemental coacting means on each door and on the hoodsadjacent the doors. This means includes vertically aligned strikerplates, one of inch, 35, is carried by each end or" the door It near thetop of the latter, another plate, 3i, being secured to one of thevertical beams it of the hood carried superstructure The proximate endsof each pair of coasting plates are oppositely bent to provideoverlapping striker terminals Consequently when pressure is exerted onthe upper edge of the door through operation of the hoist mechanism, thestriker terminals 32 will engage to effect dislcdgement of the door fromthe kiln hood to thereby facilitate elevation of the door in an obviousmanner.

in order to efiect inward lateral movement .f the doors, toward the endsof the hood, during descent of the doors, suitable coacting means on thedoors and on the kiln hood are also provided. The means in this instanceconsists of abutment plates 33, a pair of which are fixedly secured toeach side of each door and project outwardly from the latter asadvantageously illustrated in Figures 6 to 8, inclusive. The abutmentplates 33 are adapted for engagement with complemental roller assembliesB l, which latter are carried by the vertical beam l6, as also shown toadvantage in Figures 6 to 8. It is, of course, to be understood that theabutment plates 33 and roller assemblies 34 are shown as one form ofcoasting means which may be adjusted for wear takeupv As is apparent, asthe door is lowered coaction of the roller assemblies 34 and abutmentplates 33 will, implemented with the inherent weight of the doors,eiTect contiguous engagement of the doors with the ends and top of thehood it.

The bottom of each door [5 may be sealed to the kiln floor inanyconventional manner. I have, to illustrate the application of theinvention, shown in Figures 4 and 5 sand troughs 36 mounted at intervalsin the floor H which may be engaged by an integral sealing flange 3'5pendently carried by the bottom of each door. I also employ sand sealsfor the sides of the hoods as indicated at 38 in Figure 2. The sealincludes plates 39 hinged on each side of each hood 12, the drag edges39' of which are embedded in the sand when the brick are being cured.Each of the plates as may be elevated above the sand and engaged withhood carried catch 45! while the hood is being moved on the kiln floor.

In use of this invention I employ conventional templates 4! which aresuperimposed on the floor H of the kiln. Each template may be used intiering predetermined units of bricks, usually 300 or 500, the rawbricks being tiered directly over the templates by the workmen as saidbricks are taken from the ware-conveying belt. After the desired numberof raw bricks have been tiered the template is removed and placed on topof the tiered raw bricks and another unit superposed thereon, followedby removal. of the template. When the desired number of raw bricks aretiered, the ends of the hood are sealed by lowering the doors 1-5 intoengagement with the ends and top of the hood as shown in Figure l of thedrawings. After the bricks have been processed, Ln a manner as set outin my Patent No. 2,399,684, the doors to are elevated to a point abovethe tops of the hoods and in due time, after the cooling period haselapsed, the bricks may be lifted in units by conventional loading forksand deposited in a truck or other suitable conveyance positioned in ornear the kiln. It is to be understood that the removal or hemanufactured or cured bricks from the kiln iioor is also eiiected whilethe workmen move in orbit. It has been found that the orbital movementof the workmen in tiering the green ware on the kiln floor and inremoving the cured bricks the floor efiects a very great savin in timeall known methods of brick manufacture and brick loading pursuant tomanufacture.

While I have herein shown a preferred form of this invention anddescribed a preferred method of reducing this invention to practice, Iam aware that various changes'm'ay be with the scope of the claimshereto What I claim is:

1. A brick kiln including a continuous floor, hoods arched over thefloor and movably mounted on the latter, doors mounted at opposite endsthe hood and engageable with the latter and the floor to provide asealed compartment, hoist means engaged with each door for elevating thedoor to permit ingress and egress through the hoods, and striker platesmounted on each door and complemental striker plates carried by eachhood, the plates being in the path of movement of one another to effectoutward horizontal displacement of the door when hoisting of the latteris initiated.

2. A continuous kiln embodying a fixed floor and hoods movable over thefloor, doors to seal the ends of each hood to form independentcompartments in the kilns, the doors being vertion the door and hood forunsealing the door when the latter is elevated, and coacting means onthe door and hood to facilitate sealing of the door upon lowering of thelatter into a closed position.

3. A brick kiln including a continuous floor, hoods arched over thefloor and movably mounted on the latter, doors mounted at the oppositeends of the hood and engageable with the latter and the floor to providea sealed compartment, hoist means engaged with each door for elevatingthe door to permit ingress and egress through the hoods, abutment platesmounted on each door,

5 the doors into contact with the kiln floor.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS mNumber Name Date 729,026 West et a1. May 26, 1903 1,403,300 Dickinson,Jr Jan. 10, 1922 2,559,595 Clark July 10, 1951

